Look what I got!!!

I just got my invite to Google Music. Google Music is a cloud based music managment service powered by Google.  currently This servie is invite only but should open up soon.  What I like is the ability to access my music on any computer and have playtime, playlists, etc show up on any other computer or device that I enable.  I am able to store 20,000 songs and Google starts you off with some fairly decent free songs.  I will post a movie later today on my youtube channel that will give a brief overview on music.  Music has a similar interface to iTunes.  No podcasting yet.  This is going to take some time to fully enjoy but good work Google.

As I write this however I see Facebook is working on a deal with Spotify to create its own music service.  I wonder how that will work?  Sounds like it will be a bit like Ping form iTunes where you can network with others who have simalar music tastes but that is just a hypothisis at this point.

I can't wait to check this out and start adding music! 

http://awesomescreenshot.com/

I was checking out awesomescreenshot.com/  This looks like an awesome site however I need to download a new browser before I can use it.  That's right Explorer folks like me can't use http://awesomescreenshot.com/ =(  Here is what I like over other screen recorders like screen toaster which I used last year.  i like that its is a plug in and is incorparated into my browser.  I like how I am able to choose where I save and or share my clips.  I feel like I have more control on where things go.  I like to edit clips together using movie maker and this seems like the right alternative for me.  I will propbably download chrome and http://awesomescreenshot.com/ next school year. 

What do you use?

Tagxedo

Tagxedo is awesome! I mean really awesome. Tagxedo is a word cloud tool that allows you many many options on how you enter text to create this word cloud.   Tagxedo has some really cool features and poweful design tools, in fact it took me almost the enitre day to learn just a fraction of of these features.  I could see some really useful applications for tagxedo.  This is something that may overwhelm some students so for class work I am sticking with Wordle. 

Xtranormal Alternatives

Xtranormal Alternatives continues to be one of the largest sources of my blog traffic.  Seems like plenty of you are in a simalar spot to me where you loved Xtranormal but once it went pay to play you started looking for a new source to create content.  I tried GoAnimate however I was only able to make a short video and could not upload to youtube.  I could only embed it into the blog.  I have checked out a few other sites but nothing compares to the ease of xtranormal.  Perhaps I will pony up the money next school year but for now I keep on the search. 

Have you found an alternative?

Google Books

Google books is now integrated with Googles Dictionary tool.  I think this is pretty cool and am eager to see what this means for the nook and Kindle as more Android based tablets roll out over the coming months.  I show students how they can look up their current novel for their language arts class online.  This is another great educational tool.  You can read more about it here.

Thanks Google

Keyboard Shortcuts for Accents and Symbols

When you log into a public computer the settings that were saved by a previous user are erased and all settings change to a default.  This can waste precious time when creating a document in a foreign language.  To enter certain language symbols that are most common a user can select "Insert" / "Symbols" / choose the font style, find the symbol, press shortcut key, and enter a new key combination for that shortcut.  This can take a precious amount of time especially if you only plan on typing a short document.  Today I created a short guide to keyboard shortcuts to insert certain symbols.  Using this guide a user can simply strike a few keys while typing and the requested symbol will appear above the letter.  I asked a few of my students to proofread this and they sad it would help them.  I also will include a link to my youtube video on how to customize symbol settings. 



Google Doc's available offline =)

This is huge news for me personally.  To be able to use Google Doc's offline would become a major help for those of us affected by slow bandwith.  To read more check out TG Daily.

Subscriber Stats

I use Googles free Webmaster Tools to track my blogs user statistics.  This helps me write about topics that my subscribers are interested in.  Under the webmasters tools you can see how many people subscribe to your feed using Google reader.  To view how many people are actually subscribing to you, check your Feedburner stats.  FeedBurner will show you on a daily basis how many people subscribe to your feed and how many people actually red those posts (Reach.)  I can see that 85 people are subscribe to me using Googles FeedFetcher, which is how Google users using reader or iGoogle subscribe to feeds.  Other users subscribe using Mozilla Compatible readers, Some are using Outlook 2007 to subscribe.  I also have a number of people using Windows Rss and a Universal RSS device. 

I love stats and I can definately get lost in them.  However it is nice to know that some people fnd the information I put out there useful.

 

Citing pictures from a website using MLA style in Word 2007

I am trying to get my students to properly cite sources for all pictures and images.  I am also trying to send the consistent message that they recieve in thier other classes so they don't become confused or recieve conflicting information.  Many teachers allow students to use some of the many online bibliography tools, which are great and I have reviewed before.  I teach students how to use Word 2007 and would like them to use the references tab and create bibliographys within Word 2007.  This is a poster I came up with to help students.  What do you use?  Am I on the right track? 



Occipital.com

occipital.com This is a really cool app for your smart phone.  It enables you to take 360 degree photos and post them on Twitter.  Currently only available for iProducts but hopefully coming to android very soon.

When was that website last updated?

Are you having trouble finding out when a website was updated?  Well there are a few tricks you can perform to find that information out.  First you can copy and past this code into the URL of the webpage you are on javascript:alert(document.lastModified) the last updated information will be displayed. 

Great Discussion Topics

TechCrunch Posts a must read article on how your photos you post on Twitter may not be "Owned" by you but a 3rd party who may use those images.

Are you like me, working in a building where the version of internet Explorer is a bit out of date?  Frustration ends today!  Chrome has announce an admin free install of Chrome.  So you may now benifit from chrome without having to ask your network admin to install it.  This is huge!

Ebackpack

Ebackpack seems to work very similar to DropItto.Me however the main difference is the ability to set up virtual classrooms and the ability to save different versions of a document.  I think that's pretty cool, imagine a student turning in work to you virtually, you make comments, then return to the student who can then make changes.  Even group work and collaboration become much easier with eBackpack.  This is going on the check out how to use list. 

Go Animimate

Today I created a video using Go Animate. I wanted to create a video that explained how to use my DropBox for students who did not have my class yet. This video was created for free, I had to pay to publish to youtube but could embed into a blog or website for free. The site is cheap enough so if this becomes welcomed by students then I will use it more and pay.



GoAnimate.com: Using The DropBox by mrrileysblog


Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

What do you think? 
Do you know of other alternatives?

Voki + First Class

Today I experimented with Voki.  It's  a site where you can create your own talking avatar.  I may not use the avatar all the time but I did come up with some different times to implement it.  Like when i will be out and want to leave additional instructions on my website for students.  Voki is very easy to use and once you sign up and create your Voki avatar you can email it or embed the avatar.  I choose to embed mine and because my school district uses First Class as its email and website client i had some additional work to do.  When you "paste" HTML into a first class page you need to format that text.  Simply highlight it, go to "Format", select Format Text, check the box that says literal HTML. 

Enjoy

AppMakr

Wanna make an iPhone App?  I know I do!  This is another thing to put on my to do list but this site makes things really easy.  Check out http://www.appmakr.com/ No code required, built for free!  This looks awesome!

How to Create a Folder

I posted a new video today on how to create a folder. This has been a common question in many of my adult school classes and something my students sometimes forget to do. Creating folders helps maintain a propperly organized drive. This allows you to find your information when you need it.
Hope this helps.

Happy National Teachers Day!

Today is National Teachers Day. 

FaceBook & Twitter Tips and Tricks

These are some of the topics I am going to discuss during tonights social networking class. Am I leaving anything out?

Twitter tips & Tricks
@ before a Username sends a tweet to just that person’s TwitterStream (visible to his/her followers): @mrriley
D before a Username sends a tweet to only that person (invisible to others): D MrRiley
You may only direct message somebody you follow.
# (“hashtag”) before a word/term identifies a tweet that’s about that topic:#socialmedia
Hashtags help others find you
When someone is conducting a Twitter search they will often use the hashtag, ex #nymets This returns results with the nymets in the tweets. That user can then research the Twitter profile and view other tweets and decide to follow that Twitter account.
Using Hashtags in your Tweets is a great way to brand yourself.
Re-Tweet
You may Re-Tweet others Tweets. You will see an RT next to your name to signal it was Re-Tweeted by you.
Web addresses (URLs) are often very long
“URL shortener” web sites create unique URLs with fewer characters
Web addresses (URLs) are often very long
“URL shortener” web sites create unique URLs with fewer characters I suggest using Googles URL shortening service http://goo.gl/
I have a video on my Youtube page to show you how http://goo.gl/ works and how to make QR codes.
Facebook Tips & Tricks
Use the Social Plug-ins page from Facebook to add Plug-ins to your website
You will need to copy & paste the HTML codes
To add more tabs to your Facebook page select FBML
Use Facebook adds to design an add for your business
Use the “Events” page to create an invitation to an event
Create a “Business” Facebook account—It should be linked to your business email address
Create a Fan Page
Once you have 25 “Fans” of your page you can create a user name which makes administrating your page easier
Other Tips & Tricks
Link up– Link all of your sites to each other. This optimizes search engine results.
Search Yourself—Do you know what others see? Is what comes up in search results what you want?
Post Regularly—Find a method that works for you and post regularly. Regularly means at a regular interval that is convenient for you.
As a personal user:
Do not “tag” photos of children under 13
Review your Privacy settings often
Enable your phone for Facebook & Twitter
Use Twitter to Follow people and updates
Many Personal users use Twitter as a substitute for RSS
As a Business user:
Tweet links to articles or videos that relate to you
Tweet information on relevant events
Yes you may Tweet information that is on your Facebook page
Create events on Facebook and allow people to RSVP
Post photos of your events under your business profile
Understand where the traffic to your business website comes from. This will tell you what other sites you should be on.
Create “Lists” for friends. Use the “Lists” to control privacy
2 great blogs to follow
http://www.facecrooks.com/
Discusses latest Facebook viruses and scams
http://www.allfacebook.com/
A great site that discusses social networking from a business perspective